The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1887-10-22
WAYS or THE ROACH.


l
The roach has been the faithful at
tendant of humanity ever since written
history began, but the abominable extent
Of this faithfulness has arisen in civilized
communities chiefly within recent times.
There is roach, little, outdoor, inno-
cent kind, that is supposed to be in
digenous in this country. 1t lives in the
fields, under stones and rubbish, and is
good food for birds. But the common
cockroach of the home and fireside came
from the Levant in ships and bales of
merchandise to England, of which coun-
try Wood, the writer on bugs, says, sit
has completely taken possession. At
first, as in this country, it was confined
to seaport towns, but the climate in the
neighborhood of kitchen fires suited it,
and the drippings about the kitchen sinks
gave it the moisture which is as essential
to it as food, and SO it strayed and spread,
coming across the sea to America quickly,
and staying and spreading here, too, I'M
til the nuisance of its presence, which has
increased every year, has reached in New
York and other large cities along tho
coast an extent that is almost intoler-
able. The kitchen fires long since ceased
to satisfy the desires of its soul. 1t has
followed water and steam pipes all over
buildings of every sort. Office buildings
and stores are as much overrun with the
insects as dwellings,. The only relief is
in the constant killing of them, and there
are men in New York who make bust
ness, and profitable one, of ridding
hotels and large private houses of the
pests. Even this professional work does
no permanent good, but only brings re-
lief for time.
The roach is, entomologically speaking,
an Orthoptera. In plain English he be-
longs to the grasshopper family. Scien-
tifically he is blatta orientalis, and has
four wings that he doesn't use, and that
are absent entirely in the females of
most species, black or reddish brown
body that reaches an inch in length if
the bug isn't killed first. Long, awl-
shaped antennae, each with eighty joints,
decorate his head. The bugs will eat al
most anything they can find. Flour,
bread, meat, clothes and shoes are some
of their delicacies. In dwellings their
usual forage is the crumbs and other
leavings of the kitchen and table. They
are essentially nocturnal, disappearing
into chinks and crevices the moment a
light appears, but of late they have be-
come so abundant in New York that the
chinks and erevices won't hold them,
and they are perforce seen much around
during the daylight.
The roach is not as rapid a breeder as
many other insects, but it seems to have
remarkable success in raising families.
The eggs are laid in little bean-shaped
capsule, three-eighths of an inch long and
half as wide. In this the eggs, about
thirty in number, lie like peas in pod
for several days. when the pod opens at
one side and let's the little, soft, white
baby reaches out, after which it closes
tight again and gives no sign that the
eggs are not within as before. The fe-
males, before the eggs are hatched, draw
the egg sac around behind them wher-
ever they CO. and their appearance with
this appendage has excited much interest
among kitchen amateurs in bugology.
After the young are Matched, the female
is said to brood over them somewhat as
hen does. In three or four days the
young bug turns from white to brown
and is ready for business.
A peculiarly disagreeable feature of the
roach is the bad habit it has of discharg-
ing from its mouth dark colored liquid
that has a most disgusting smell. Every
place which the insects frequent becomes
in time impregnated with this nauseous
odor, which sometimes Is SO powerful
that it sensibly affects the flavor of pro-
visions that have been left in larders in
which reaches are plentiful.
Another kind of roach is officially
peculiarly fond of Boston, where 1t is
known as the ''Croton bug" This insect
has got over the nocturnal habits of the
ordinary roach. 1t goes around freely in
daylight, and for real solid meals prefers
wheat bread. AS light lunch it is par
tial to cloth bound books. Leather bound
books it will not touch.
In Lapland they have the blatta lap
ponica, smaller than the common roach,
but with such astonishing voracity that
they frequently devour in one day the
entire stock of dried fish in a Laplander's
cabin.
Fully as voracious are sort of reaches
that infest ships. It sometimes occurs
that the steward going to open a box of
crackers finds inside nothing but mass
of reaches. In st. Petersburg it has been
necessary to destroy houses that had been
made uninhabitable by reaches.
There are in all some 900 different
reaches that have been caught and cata-
logued. A large section Of the world is
still to hear from.
With all his manifold vices it is pleasant
to know that the roach is not altogether
bad. There yet remains in the breast of
even the fattest and ugliest roach that
ever spoiled custard pie one sentiment
sprung from the heaven born heart of
those fiery swords from which his race is
descended. Though innumerable dam
aged dinners, ruined luncheons without
end and an uncounted host of breakfasts
made odious by his unwelcome presence
be charged up against him; though many
fresides have been desolated by him and
numberless pantries laid waste, yet let
there, in justice, be set against his name
one legend of righteousness roach
eats bedbugs.
Many things eat reaches. Birds and
all insectivorous animals are especially
fond of them. Hedgehogs dote on them.
In England hedgehogs are sometimes kept
in kitchens on purpose to devour the
reaches 1t is also said that in the Isle of
france there exists sort of sand wasp
that preys upon reaches. New York
Sun.
Something for Furniture Makers.
Nature has provided a new industry for
furniture makers, by SO working on a